Pantheon, one of the best preserved but also in a sense the most enigmatic of all Roman monuments. In the first place, we do not know for certain which parts of it were built by whom and when. Most authorities are satisfied on archaeological grounds that both rotunda and dome were built by Emperor Hadrian between. A.D. 120 and 124, though his name appears nowhere in an inscription. Pantheon, until recently was the largest single enclosed space in the world. Both vault and walls are of concrete, bonded with brick and stone clad internally. The ceiling is lightened and strengthened by coffering. The Romans were unable to solve satisfactorily the problem of giving a non-axial, circular building an entrance, and provided the incongruous pedimented and columned portico which fits awkwardly on to the rotunda. The Pantheon was roofed with a dome, but it was poised over a circle, a plan which offers little possibility for elaboration.
It was moreover a colossally heavy affair, with a great mass of concrete at its extremities to act as a counterpoise to its thrust. It is hard to speak objectively of the Pantheon as an architectural design. One is impressed above all by the geometrical simplicity and colossal scale of the interior: also by the remarkable effect of lighting obtained from a single opening, twenty-seven feet wide, in the crown of the hemispherical dome. For thirteen centuries Christian worshippers have venerated its antiquity while repressing the memory of its pagan origin. Visitors from all over the world have accepted its testimony to the wealth and accomplishments of Imperial Rome. But without doubt the most complete exposition of the functional nature and purpose of this structural element are exhibited in the Pantheon, where the entire organic framework of the huge building is developed from the principle of the relieving arch, here applied with a scientific grasp and on a scale never before imagined. Indeed, this principle, combined with the new concept of the balance of thrusts generated by such arches, is here used in so original and daring a manner as to constitute a true work of genius.
The Term Paper on Pantheon 2
... and the step-ring and coffer arrangement in the dome. Foundation The Pantheon was built on marshy, unstable earth which gave a ... life seems perfect, and this is the case with the Pantheon. The dome and walls have cracked. Concrete cracks under excessive tensile ... life seems perfect, and this is the case with the Pantheon. The dome and walls have cracked. Concrete cracks under excessive tensile ...
It serves, too, to refute the oft-repeated dogma that the Pantheon, with its dome, was cast in one rigid mass of concrete, thus avoiding almost all problems of statics and dynamics. From this time onward the relieving arch became universal in Imperial architecture, was taken over in the great Roman structures and was accepted as standard practice throughout the Byzantine period. Early Christian art in Europe was at first wholly sepulchral, developing in the catacombs the symbols of the new faith. Once liberated, however, Christianity appropriated bodily for its public rites the basilica type and the general substance of Roman architecture. Shafts and capitals, architraves and rich linings of veined marble, even the pagan Bacchic symbolism of the vine, it adapted to new uses in its own service. Constantine led the way in architecture, endowing Bethlehem and Jerusalem with splendid churches, and his new capital on the Bosphorus with the first of the three historic basilicas dedicated to the Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia).
One of the greatest of innovators, he seems to have had a special predilection for circular buildings, and the tombs and baptisteries which he erected in this form, especially that known as Santa Costanza, furnished the prototype for numberless Italian baptisteries in later ages.
The splendid mosaics of Santa Constanza, particularly those of the cupola which are preserved only in old drawings, still show the favorite Nile scenes, Cupids, and symbolic children, and only a few Christian motifs point to the Christian character of an otherwise purely worldly art. The same is true of the magnificent floor mosaics that decorate the vast cathedral of Aquileia. These mosaics are characterized by predominantly symbolic representations, such as those familiar to us from the catacomb frescoes and Old Testament scenes, which may have been borrowed from the eastern synagogues. And as late as the end of the fourth century, the mosaics in the apse of the Baptistery of the Lateran, with its luxurious acanthus-leaf ornaments and realistic vines on a blue background, is almost the same in tonality as the earlier heathen productions. The mosaic decoration of Santa Constanza shows no Christian influence whatsoever. One of the most outstanding feats of Roman engineering and design, the Pantheon is still reckoned among the greatest domed structures of the world, surpassed only by the Byzantine Hagia Sophia.
The Essay on Byzantine Empire Roman Western Army
After the Western Empire 'fell' in 476 CE, a new empire rose in its place. The new empire, the Byzantine Empire, was based on the cultures and traditions of the Western Empire, but also contained many distinctive features. The two empires were very similar since they existed in the same area and carried some of the same cultural roots. But the Byzantine Empire came into existence after the Roman ...
In the light of evidence now available, the conclusion hence seems justified that the Proto-Byzantine style particularly, the style which culminates so magnificently in the church of Hagia Sophia, must be considered a direct outgrowth of principles of design and structure developed in Rome and Italy from the time of Augustus onward. Although, perhaps, no sector of this evidence may be hailed as conclusive in any single sphere, the cumulative effect of a wide range of data, archaeological, historical, and esthetic. Byzantine structural methods, and particularly the remarkable engineering feats accomplished in the building of Hagia Sophia, are, nevertheless, the outgrowth and culmination of centuries of experiment and invention carried forward almost exclusively on the soil of Italy. The supposedly “oriental” mode of Byzantine decoration in colored marbles, carved ornament, and gold mosaic must likewise be attributed to the genius of Imperial Rome (Santa Constanza).
From the esthetic viewpoint, little or nothing exists in early Byzantine design which can be identified as specifically “oriental,” since its characteristic handling of space, color and form stems directly from the great Western tradition of the pagan Roman Empire. In developing this thesis it is advisable to begin with a comparative study of structure and building techniques in Roman and Byzantine architecture..
